Agricultural tillers of various types have been previously described and used since man began growing crops for food. Some of these prior tillers are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 311,909; 464,102; 589,337; 668,178; 687,115; 990,738; 1,359,404; 2,065,174; 2,241,276; 4,415,042; and 4,618,006.
There have not previously been described, however, tillers of the type provided by this invention.
In my prior filed applications, identified above there is described, in one embodiment, an improvement to an agricultural ripper tiller implement for deep tilling of soil between growing row crops. The tiller is of the type having a downwardly depending shank and a shoe member carried by the lower end of the shank. The improvement comprises a shield member which is adapted to be detachably secured to the shank in a generally horizontal plane. The front edge of the shield is sloped upwardly, and the shield extends outwardly from opposite sides of the shank.
The shield is positioned on the shank in a manner such that when the shank and the shoe are pulled through the soil the shield member enables soil to move outwardly from the shank to the row crops without covering the crops. The shield member also prevents large clumps and clods of dirt from being thrown upwardly by the shank and shoe. The shield also assures that the ground is closed behind the shank so as to keep the soil from drying out.
The shield member preferably is vertically adjustable on the shank. This enables the ripper to be used at any desired depth in the soil. The shield member preferably is at or just slightly above ground level when the shank and shoe are in the soil at the desired depth.
In another embodiment described in my said prior applications the shield member is used and a pair of downwardly depending plate members is disposed under the shield. The plate members are angled outwardly from front to rear so that they form a V-shape, with the apex being the leading edge. One such plate member is positioned on each side of the shank.
Thus, when the shank and shoe are pulled through the soil, the shield member and the plate members urge the soil outwardly from the shank to the row crops to form a hill in each row without covering the crops. Preferably the top edges of the plate members are firmly secured to the bottom of the shield (e.g., by welding or by bolting them to the shield).
In yet another embodiment in my said prior applications there is provided a ditching implement which is useful for ditching soil between row crops. This implement includes a shank member, a shield member attached to the shank in a generally horizontal plane, a V-shaped plate member disposed beneath the shield member, and support means for supporting the shank (e.g., a conventional tool bar).
When the V-shaped plate member is pulled through the soil the shield member and the V-shaped plate member urge the soil outwardly from the shank to form a ditch between the row crops. The ditch is very beneficial for movement of water when irrigating the row crops.
Another improvement described in my said prior applications relates to adjustable wing members or deflectors to be used in conjunction with the ditching implement and the tilling implement used to form a hill in each row of growing row crops.
The use of adjustable wing members or deflectors enables the implements to be used between adjacent rows of growing row crops regardless of the spacing or distance between adjacent rows. The wing members are carried at the trailing edge of the V-shaped plates under the shield member. Each wing member can be adjusted, as desired, to control the amount of loosened soil which is pushed toward the rows of growing crops. By angling the wing members farther outwardly the amount of loosened soil is pushed farther outwardly.
Other advantages of the implements of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.